LG Optimus Vu 5-inch 4:3 aspect ratio smartphone teased, sumo wrestles with the Galaxy Note (video)

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  • February 12, 2012 at 2:10 pm

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LG Optimus Vu 5-inch 4:3 aspect ratio smartphone teaser

Although Dell was first to test the waters with a 5-inch smartphone/tablet (or phablet or tabletphone), the Streak 5 met very lukewarm response and has been defunct since last summer. Yet Samsung’s 5.3-inch stylus-friendly Galaxy Note smartphone has been quite a success.

Not to be outdone by its fellow Korean competitor, LG is getting its own oversized device ready and has posted a teaser video of the Optimus Vu, a 5-inch smartphone with an old-school 4:3 aspect ratio IPS display and a 1024 x 768 resolution. The 4:3 ratio gives the Optimus Vu a more stocky profile, compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note’s 16:9 1280 x 800 screen, though it would be better suited for certain taks like web browsing or reading books in portrait mode. You can see a side-by-side comparison of the two below.
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Why we love tech: Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” comes alive on our screens

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  • February 11, 2012 at 5:58 pm

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Petros Vrellis - Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" interactive painting

When we think of the era of Paul Gauguin, Henri Rousseau and Vincent van Gogh we imagine a time long-gone and far away from our modern reality. However, important artists of all times are the vanguard of their era, experimenting with new techniques, materials and ideas and creating something new, a silent revolution.

I’m sure that if Vincent van Gogh were to live in our times, he would have experimented with technology the way many contemporary artists do. It’s pretty natural then that “The Starry Night”, van Gogh’s magnum opus now exhibited at the MoMA in New York, has received the interactive treatment.
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Lytro light field camera passes by the FCC, shows us its tasty internals

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  • February 11, 2012 at 1:13 pm

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Lytro light field camera FCC photo

The Lytro light field camera is an incredible feat of engineering. If you’ve never heard of this elongated boxy camera before, then know that it doesn’t just look different to every other camera out there, it functions very differently too.

The premise of the camera lies in its ability to capture the light field, that is besides the color and intensity it also captures the vector direction of all light rays hitting its sensor; traditional cameras only capture the color and intensity of light but not the direction. The huge advantage is that you don’t need to worry about focusing when taking an image, focusing happens later on the camera or on your computer.

You can quickly and easily focus on different subjects by simply clicking on a point in the image captured by Lytro. That’s amazing, because so far we were able to adjust every other aspect of a photograph (e.g. exposure, white balance etc.) after it was taken but you were stuck with the manner it was focused.
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Acer CloudMobile 4.3-inch optically laminated HD Android 4.0 smartphone revealed

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  • February 10, 2012 at 4:16 pm

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Acer CloudMobile 4.3-inch HD Android 4.0 smartphones

Well, well, Acer must be bursting with pride, as its until now announced smartphone won the iF design award for 2012. The Acer CloudMobile is a curvy Android smartphone to be presented at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona at the end of this month. The device is the first phone to offer AcerCloud technology, hence the name, which in real terms means that it gives you access to your data, like photos, documents and music, from Acer’s cloud storage.
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Panasonic hints at new G series Micro Four Thirds digital camera

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  • February 10, 2012 at 1:42 pm

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Panasonic Espana tweet on new G series camera

Panasonic had its turn in the spotlight with the new GX1 Micro Four Thirds (MFT) digital camera, but now with all the attention the Olympus E-M5 is getting, it must be feeling left out.

So here comes Panasonic Spain teasing us on a potential new G series MFT camera. The tweet goes along the lines of no GX2 yet, but another G… enjoy the weekend!. Though everything is pretty speculative right now, we could soon be looking to either a GH2, G3 or GF3 successor.
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Fujifilm X10 v1.03 firmware update released, brings a bunch of improvements

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  • February 9, 2012 at 12:36 pm

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Fujifilm X10

Fujifilm has just released a firmware update for its retro-looking X10 enthusiast point-and-shoot camera. The update to version 1.03 brings a host of fixes and improvements to the excellent X10 including compatibility with Mac OS X Lion, better face detection and the ability to customize the “RAW” button’s function. The update also promises to reduce the ‘white orb’ blooming effect that many users have complained about, though it doesn’t eliminate it.
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Olympus OM-D E-M5 weather-sealed Micro Four Thirds camera announced for $999.99 (specs, pictures, video)

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  • February 8, 2012 at 5:22 pm

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Olympus OM-D E-M5 MFT digital camera - silver - front side

After weeks of speculation, the new Olympus E-M5 Micro Four Thirds (MFT) digital camera has been announced today as part of the company’s new OM-D line. If you’ve been following our coverage so far, then you’re pretty much already briefed on what you can expect from the new Olympus E-M5.

First off, Olympus considered the E-M5 too good for the existing PEN series, so it has created the new OM-D line, borrowing a bit of nostalgia from its original 35mm film OM system. The OM-D line still belongs to the Micro Four Thirds system of digital mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (MILCs), and a large part of the appeal of the E-M5 is the large selection of MFT lenses.
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Nikon D800 full-frame DSLR conquers tough light fast-moving scenes in sample video

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  • February 7, 2012 at 5:20 pm

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Nikon D800 "Joy Ride" sample video capture

Night street scenes, candlelight, partly lit faces, a fast moving bike, automobile headlights coming straight into your lens, these are tough scenes to shoot with any camera. Nikon has a point to make, and that is that its new D800 full-frame DSLR can shoot awesome HD video.

Just after the announcement of the Nikon D800, the company has posted a short movie titled “Joy Ride”, shot entirely with the new camera, demonstrating its video capabilities. You can watch the 4 minute extreme shooting challenge clip directed by Sandro below, as well as a behind the scenes video. We’re sure that anyone with a stash of good Nikon glass should be pretty giddy right now.

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Google announces Chrome for Android beta browser

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  • February 7, 2012 at 1:11 pm

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Chrome bate for Android

Google has just announced a mobile version of its Chrome browser. You will need a device running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to get the beta app. It does not replace the default Android browser but rather co-lives with it. We will be posting more info as we test the new browser.
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Nikon D800 full-frame camera ushers 36-megapixel era for $2,999.95, does video right

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  • February 7, 2012 at 11:44 am

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Nikon D800 full-frame DSLR - on tripod

Nikon has just created a new essential business expense for all its professional photographer friends to the tune of $3,000 — body only. The long rumored Nikon D800 digital SLR camera has just been announced, bearing a new 36.4-megapixel FX-format full-frame sensor. The successor to the D700 is aspiring to do a lot more than its predecessor, inheriting a number of features from the higher-end Nikon D4 (going for $6,000), while being only slightly larger than the D700.

In the D800, you’ll find the same viewfinder, 51 point and 15 cross type autofocus and 91k-pixel 3D Color Matrix metering systems as in the D4. Though, as you would expect, the D800 still won’t be able to compete against the D4 in terms of low-light shooting ability, with ISO up to 6,400 (expanded 25,600).
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